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Cathy Aranda
Cathy Aranda

Creating In-Text Citations in Vancouver Style

4 min read

Published on: Jun 1, 2024

Last updated on: Jul 17, 2024

In-Text Citations in Vancouver Style

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If you are writing a scientific paper or report, you may need to cite your sources using Vancouver style. 

This citation system uses numbers within the text to refer to a list of references at the end of the document. Vancouver referencing is widely used in the fields of medicine and science, especially for journals and publications.

In this blog, we will show you how to add in-text citations in Vancouver style correctly and easily. 

So, without further ado, let's get right into it!

In-Text Citation in Vancouver

There are some rules to follow when adding in-text citations in Vancouver style:

Where to Put the Numerical Citation?

Whenever you paraphrase, summarize, quote, or otherwise indicate a source within your main text, you should add the numerical citation along with it. 

Whenever you paraphrase or summarize information from another source, you can add the numerical citation at the end of the sentence.

Here is a Vancouver in-text citation example:

There are various types of chocolate, including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, each with its unique taste profile and texture (9).

If you’re providing the author’s name or a signal phrase to indicate an external, you should provide the citation right after the author’s name or other explicit indication.

For instance,

Smith (4) states that chocolate is cacao, derived from the beans of the Theobroma cacao tree, giving it its rich and distinctive flavor.

Here are some general rules for adding in-text citations in Vancouver style:

  • The numbers should be outside full stop and commas but inside colons and semicolons.
  • If the author's name is mentioned in the text, the number can be placed next to the name.
  • The citation style and format should be consistent and follow the guidelines of the faculty, school, journal, or publisher.

Numbering Your Sources

Sources should be numbered in the sequence of their appearance in the text. That is, the first source to be cited in the whole paper should be marked with (1), while the second should be marked with (2), and so on.

Each source should have a unique number. If you have to cite a source again at a later stage, keep the same number you used for it the first time.

Multiple Sources at the Same Point

If you have to provide citations that include multiple authors or multiple sources, at the same point, here’s how you do it in Vancouver:

Dark chocolate is known for its intense cocoa flavor and higher cocoa content, while milk chocolate is sweeter due to the addition of milk solids (6, 9).

Moreover, if the sources are consecutive, you can add the range like this:

White chocolate, although not technically true chocolate as it lacks cocoa solids, is popular for its creamy and sweet characteristics (13, 16–18).

Page Numbers for Direct Quotations

Medical and scientific papers rarely use direct quotations. However, if you add a direct quotation in your paper, you should provide precise page numbers within the in-text citation. 

Here’s how:

Single page number:

Chocolate is a versatile ingredient, used in a wide range of desserts, beverages, and even savory dishes, showcasing its adaptability in culinary creations (5, p. 48).

Page numbers: 

Chocolate is a delectable treat that has been enjoyed by civilizations for centuries, with its origins traced back to Mesoamerican cultures (16, pp. 56-57).

If the source doesn’t have a page number, you can provide other locators, such as section or paragraph numbers. 

Try PerfectEssayWriter.ai’s Free Citation Machine Today

Do you need help with your citations? If you are looking for a fast and easy way to generate accurate citations in any style, look no further than PerfectEssayWriter.ai’s free citation generator

This powerful Vancouver citation generator can create flawless citations in seconds, saving you time and hassle. 

Just enter the details of your sources and watch as the tool generates perfect citations for you. 

Try it now and save time and energy for you!

Cathy Aranda

WRITTEN BY

Cathy Aranda (Marketing, and Public Relations)

Cathy is a highly dedicated author who has been writing for the platform for over five years. With a Master's degree in Mass Communication, she is well-versed in various forms of writing such as articles, press releases, blog posts, and whitepapers. As an essay writing guide author at PerfectEssayWriter.ai, she has been helping students and professionals improve their writing skills by offering practical tips on research, citation, sentence structure, and style.

Cathy is a highly dedicated author who has been writing for the platform for over five years. With a Master's degree in Mass Communication, she is well-versed in various forms of writing such as articles, press releases, blog posts, and whitepapers. As an essay writing guide author at PerfectEssayWriter.ai, she has been helping students and professionals improve their writing skills by offering practical tips on research, citation, sentence structure, and style.

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